Buffalo Sabres signs restricted free agents, Andrej Sekera and Matt Ellis –NHL offseason Update
After a series of negotiations, Buffalo Sabres have finally re-signed their two remaining restricted free agents, defenseman, Andrej Sekera, and, forward, Matt Ellis, to multi-year deals, each player's terms and conditions with regard of salary and length
were not disclosed. The announcement was made on Tuesday.
Signing the two RFA’s enabled Buffalo to avoid a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday, July 25.
According to unofficial sources, Sekera, a 25-year-old defender, signed on to a four-year, $11 million contract, while Ellis, a veteran left winger, is believed to have agreed to a two-year deal of which the financial details are unknown.
Sekera was especially happy with the signing on Tuesday.
"I'm really happy everything came together", Sekera said by phone from his offseason home in Slovakia. "When you see the team, how it's built, and what changes were made and you see the ownership working and doing everything to help you be a winner, I'm
pretty sure every single guy on the team is very excited about next season".
Drafted as the 71st overall pick in round-three of the 2004 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft by Buffalo, Andrej Sekera will be entering his sixth consecutive season with Buffalos.
Last season was the best for the Bojnice, Slovakia native, in which he recorded career highs of playing 76 games and scoring 29 points (3 goals, 26 assists) for a plus-minus rating of 11.
Sekera hopes to continue of growing, and staying with a team he likes and really believes in will be the key factor in allowing him to do that.
"I want to build on the last season that I had. I want to become a better player, a complete player", Sekera said. "I want to become a winner so I will do anything possible to do it".
Matt Ellis, a 29-year-old undrafted player, began his NHL career with Detroit during the 2006-2007 season.
The Welland, Ontario, Canada native, has played three straight seasons with Buffalo up until now, but appeared in only 14 games last season, failing to register a single point.
Ellis’s contract is also a two-way one, which means that he is most likely to remain with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate club, Portland Pirates, like lasts seaon.
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